Dead Log 🪵
A fallen tree trunk or branch that is slowly rotting away on the woodland floor.
📄 Educational Handout Available
Download the printable infographic for this habitat.
Climate & Environment
Damp and shaded microclimate (a tiny localized climate), insulated from extreme temperature changes.
Key Plants
Fungi, lichens, and mosses that thrive on decaying wood.
💡 Fun Facts
- A dead log is teeming with more life than a living tree, hosting thousands of detritivores (creatures that eat dead matter) that recycle nutrients back into the soil.
- Woodlice and millipedes love the dark, damp conditions under the bark, where they are protected from birds and the drying sun.
Key Creatures
Stag beetle
Lucanus cervus
How it survives here:
The larvae spend several years living inside the dead wood, eating the rotting timber until they are ready to emerge as adult beetles.
Woodlouse
How it survives here:
Has a tough segmented exoskeleton and thrives in the damp, dark microclimate of rotting wood.
Centipede
How it survives here:
A fast predator that hunts smaller insects and grubs hiding in the crevices of the dead log.
Slug
How it survives here:
Stays in the damp dark of the log to prevent its soft body from drying out.
Spider
How it survives here:
Spins webs in the hollows of the log to catch wandering insects.